Federal Circuit Affirms Axing of Surgical-Staple Patent Verdict

A federal judge was right to cut down to $1 a $10 million jury verdict against a medical technology company Intuitive Surgical Inc. for infringing a surgical-stapling patent, the Federal Circuit said.

Plaintiff Rex Medical didn’t give the jury enough evidence to assign a damages value against Intuitive, and damages “must be proved, and not guessed at,” wrote Judge Kara F. Stoll in a precedential opinion issued by the appeals court Thursday.

Judge Maryellen Noreika of the US District Court for the District of Delaware found in September 2023 there was support for a jury’s finding that Intuitive infringed a ...